Back Bay Station in Boston, Massachusetts.Photo: Alamy
A scene of terror unfolded at a Boston train station on Sunday after an escalator carrying passengers suddenly malfunctioned, causing nine people to suffer injuries.
“I felt it start to free-fall, I tried to run up it as fast as I could,” Aucoinrecalled to the outlet. “When I felt it stop, we ran to the top. I looked behind me, I saw the pile of people and I saw blood everywhere.”
Maia, who was near the top of the stairs, added: “I ran and hit the emergency stop button on the escalator and held it down until I was sure it was stopped.”
Eli Smith was also in the station at the time and though he wasn’t on the escalator, he told NBC affiliateWBTSthat he suddenly heard “a whole bunch of commotion coming” from the area.
“Out of pure curiosity I go over and look,” he recalled to WBTS. “And there was like four people laying down and like a puddle of blood at the end of the escalator.”
“[There’s] normally steps going up and then it turned into a slide and went backward, and that’s when people fell,” Smith added.
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Despite the bloody scene, Boston EMS confirmed in their tweet that nine people had been transported to a hospital with what appeared to be “minor” injuries.
At this time, their conditions remain unknown. It is also unclear what caused the escalator to malfunction.
The MBTA spokesperson tells PEOPLE that the escalator will remain closed while they investigate the incident alongside KONE, who regularly inspects and maintains the escalators.
“With the public’s safety of paramount importance, the MBTA is committed to determining the underlying cause and working to ensure such an incident doesn’t happen again,” the spokesperson adds. “Information about the Back Bay unit’s inspection and maintenance history is being gathered as part of the ongoing investigation.”
source: people.com
